The stadium opened on August 3, 2003, after two years of construction that began on May 7, 2001, and replaced Veterans Stadium as the Eagles' home stadium. While its total capacity barely changed, the new stadium contains double the number of luxury and wheelchair-accessible seats, along with more modern services. The field's construction included several light emitting diode (LED) video displays, as well as more than Script error: No such module "convert". of LED ribbon boards.[4] Unlike the Vet, Lincoln Financial Field never had a jail and currently still doesn't have one. The Linc also plays host to several soccer games each year, and in the past (2005, 2006, 2013) it has played host to the NCAA lacrosse national championship.

Naming rights were sold in June 2002 to Lincoln Financial Group, for a sum of $139.6 million over 21 years. Additional construction funding was raised from the sale of Stadium Builder's Licenses to Eagles season ticket holders.

In late spring of 2013, the Eagles announced that there will be some major upgrades to Lincoln Financial Field over the next 2 years. The total project estimate is valued at over $125 million. The upgrades will include seating expansion, two new HD video boards, upgraded amenities, WiFi, and two new connecting bridges for upper levels. These upgrades were decided upon after research from season ticket holders, advisory boards, and fan focus groups. The majority of these changes, including WiFi (which will accommodate 45,000 users and have coverage over the entire stadium), will be completed by the 2013 home opener. The upgraded sound systems and video boards will be finished by the 2014 season, according to team officials.[5]

September 6, 2003: Lincoln Financial Field hosted its first regular-season college football game, a college matchup of local Philadelphia rivals: Villanova and Temple. Villanova prevailed 23–20 in double overtime.

September 8, 2003: The Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers competed on Monday Night Football in the first regular-season NFL game at Lincoln Financial Field. The game was referenced as the “Inaugural Game” at Lincoln Financial Field. The Buccaneers defeated the Eagles 17–0 in their new home.

May 2004: Minor modifications were made to the stadium to change capacity slightly. Some seats were removed from the club box level to increase handicap access. The temporary seats were removed in the north east end zone and a permanent structure was erected and formally named The Pepsi Zone. It is designed as a family-friendly section.

September 23, 2007: Wearing 1933 throwback uniforms celebrating the team's 75th anniversary, the Eagles set multiple team records in a 56–21 victory over the Detroit Lions; the second most points in team history. It was the first time the Eagles ever had a 300-yard passer (Donovan McNabb), a 200-yard receiver (Kevin Curtis), and a 100-yard rusher (Brian Westbrook) in the same game.

May 29, 2010: The United States National Soccer Team won their match 2-1 against Turkey in the last game of the 2010 World Cup Send Off Series. A crowd of 55,407 people attended, setting a new attendance record for U.S Soccer at Lincoln Financial Field.

July 21, 2010: The Union hosted the Manchester United on their USA Tour. Manchester United won, 1-0.

September 12, 2010: The Eagles honored the 50th Anniversary of their last NFL Championship as they wore replicas of the 1960 uniforms in a 27-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Controversies

For the inaugural season at Lincoln Financial Field (2003), the Eagles imposed a ban on hoagies and cheesesteaks being brought into the stadium, citing security concerns related to the events of September 11. The ban only lasted one week after much mockery by fans and radio personalities.[6]

Prior to the first Eagles game of the 2007 season, a ruling was made concerning a Philadelphia and national tradition: tailgating. While the Eagles did not ban the act entirely, they did ban the use of tables and tents as well as the purchasing of more than one parking spot per vehicle. Prices were also doubled to forty dollars for RVs and buses, and twenty dollars for cars. Fans have been reported to be upset.[7][8][9]

Suites and lounges

Lincoln Financial Field from I-95, before addition of solar panels to exterior.

There are 172 Luxury Suites at Lincoln Financial Field. They range in capacity from 12 to 40 people and cost $75,000 to $300,000 per year or $20,000 for a single game rental. The suites are located in six separate areas throughout the stadium. There are 3,040 luxury suite seats in total.[10]

There are 2 exclusive Script error: No such module "convert". club lounges in the stadium. The lounge on the west side is the "Panasonic Lounge" and the one on the east side is the "SCA Club Lounge". Suite holders and club seat holders have access to these 2 lounges. There are a total of 10,828 club seats in the stadium. These club seats feature some unique benefits above and beyond the lounges. One major benefit is the lounges open hours before the event, in most cases 2–4 hours. The lounges also have multiple full service bars in them. The seats in the club level are padded, and there is also a wait staff present to serve food and drinks.[10]

Parking

There are numerous parking lots surrounding Lincoln Financial Field. The parking assignments may change depending on other activities in the area on a particular day. According to the stadium's website all lots will cost visitors $25 and $50 for an over sized vehicle. Tailgating is allowed in all lots except for T-X lots. Majority of the lots are public cash lots, but visitors should visit the website Lincoln Financial Field Parking for more information before heading to an event.[11]

Training Camp

The Eagles decided after the 2012 season to move training camp back to Philadelphia. As a part of this new agreement the Eagles will have multiple practices, which are open to the public, at Lincoln Financial. The rest of the practices will be closed, and will take place across the street at the NovaCare Complex. Information about tickets and dates can be found at Training Camp Information.[12]

College football

The Linc is the home field for Temple University football. On August 13, 2003, the Philadelphia Eagles and Temple University announced a 15-year agreement for Temple to play their home football games at Lincoln Financial Field.[13] Temple played its first game at the Linc on September 6, 2003 against Villanova, the teams' first meeting since 1980. Villanova won in dramatic fashion in the second overtime to defeat Temple 23-20.[14]

Lincoln Financial Field is the primary home to the Army–Navy Game. The game has been played the most often in Philadelphia. It was played at Veterans Stadium for the final time in 2001, and prior to the Vet, at John F. Kennedy Stadium and Franklin Field. The Linc has hosted the game five times, first in 2003 and most recently in 2009. It was announced on June 9, 2009 that the game would be played in Philadelphia at the Linc in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017.[15]

In 2004, after winning the gold-medal in soccer at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the U.S. women's team conducted a "Fan Celebration Tour", playing ten matches across the United States from September to December 2004. The matches were the final national team appearances for Mia Hamm, Joy Fawcett, and Julie Foudy, all of whom retired after the tour. The team played at the Linc on November 6, 2004 where they lost 3-1 to Denmark in front of 14,812 spectators.[17]

In late July and early August, 2004, Manchester United returned to play Celtic and AC Milan played Chelsea in two friendly matches.[18]

Lincoln Financial Field was listed by U.S. Soccer's World Cup bid committee as one of 18 stadiums to be potential sites for the United States to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[20][21][22]

Philadelphia Union played their home opener against D.C. United at the Linc on April 10, 2010 due to construction delays at their new stadium, PPL Park. The Union defeated United, 3–2. The Union also played FC Dallas to a 1–1 tie in the second home game in franchise history at the Linc. Although having moved into its permanent venue at PPL Park, the Philadelphia Union continue to use the Linc for matches where ticket demand is expected to far exceed the full capacity at its regular home.[citation needed] English powerhouse club Manchester United met the Philadelphia Union during their pre-season tour on July 21, 2010 where they lost 1–0.[23] The Union played the Spanish powerhouse club Real Madrid on July 24, 2011, where they lost 2–1.[24]

Lincoln Financial Field also hosted the US National team's final match on home soil before the 2010 World Cup.[25] The US defeated Turkey 2–1 on May 29, 2010.

The US men's national team returned to Lincoln Financial Field on August 10, 2011, for an international friendly match against Mexico, where they tied 1-1.[26]

Other sports

The Philadelphia Phillies celebrated their 2008 World Series championship with a parade down Broad Street, appearance before a sold-out crowd at the Linc, and then a ceremony at Citizens Bank Park. The Citizens Bank Park ceremony was simulcast to the crowd at the Linc.[29] Tickets to the event at Lincoln Financial Field were made available at no-cost to the public and were gone within 45-minutes when they were made available at 3pm on October 30, 2008.[30]

Entertainment

The Advance Auto PartsMonster Jam performed at the stadium on Saturday June 9, 2012 as part of the Path of Destruction tour, for the third time. Previous events took place during the winter at the Spectrum and two times on June 4, 2011 and June 12, 2010.

U2 performed during their 360° Tour on July 14, 2011, with Interpol as their opening act. The show was originally scheduled to take place on July 12, 2010, but was postponed, due to Bono's emergency back surgery.

Awards

In 2013, Lincoln Financial Field became the "greenest" NFL stadium to date.[citation needed] Energy-efficient additions include 11,000 solar panels, and 14 UGE-4K wind turbines outside and on top of the stadium respectively. These installations account for 30% of the electricity used to run the facility. 2013 also marked the fourth year in a row that the venue made the top of PETA's list of "Vegetarian-Friendly NFL Stadiums".[35]